Although optical fiber is quickly supplanting conventional copper cable as the media of choice for carrying data, multi-conductor copper cables are still used, particularly for short-haul data transmission between various pieces of data communications equipment. A typical multi-conductor cable for interconnecting two pieces of data communications equipment usually has each of its ends terminated with a data connector, the most popular of which is the RS-232 type connector. This type of connector is comprised of an insulative (e.g., plastic) block containing two rows of opposed recesses, each recess seating a corresponding contact. An electrical connection between each contact and a corresponding wire in the cable is usually obtained by physically ramming the wire into the connector recess so as to be pierced by a barb on the contact. When the connector barb has pierced the insulation on the wire, an electrical contact will be established between the contact and the wire. Once all of the connections have been made in this manner, a hood is placed over the block to shield the contacts.
Attachment of an RS-232 type data connector to each end of a cable may occur either in a factory where the cable is made, or at a field site where the cable is to be installed. In the factory, the volume of connectors to be installed is usually such that an automated connector attachment machine can be employed. An example of such an attachment machine is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,087 and 4,034,472, issued in March 1977 and June 1977, respectively, to W. Cover et al.
However, in the field, the volume of connectors to be installed is usually too low to economically justify the use of a fully automated connector attachment machine because such machines are usually very expensive. Even if the volume were indeed high enough to economically justify such a machine, conditions in the field are often such that fully automated connector attachment machines, which are typically very bulky and complex, cannot be readily deployed. Rather, field installation of data connectors is generally accomplished by hand, typically with the aid of a specially designed pliers which serves to ram each individual wire into a connector recess so as to be pierced by the contact. As may be appreciated, manual installation of data connectors in this manner is tedious and expensive.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,903,399, issued on Feb. 27, 1990, in the names of K. H. Billingham et al., and assigned to AT&T (herein incorporated by reference), discloses a tool useful in the field for attaching successive pairs of wires in a cable to successive pairs of opposed contacts on a connector, such as a "ribbon"-type connector used within the telecommunications industry. The Billingham et al. tool comprises a base that mounts a track along which a connector-carrying carriage is slidably disposed. The carriage serves to carry the connector, with its recesses vertically oriented, past a pair of wire guides on opposed sides of the track. Each wire guide serves to guide a wire pulled thereacross by an operator into alignment with each of a pair of ram assemblies, each located adjacent to a corresponding wire guide. Each ram assembly serves to ram the wire aligned therewith into a connector recess opposite the ram to attach the wire to the contact seated in this recess. After each of a pair of wires is attached to a separate one of the pair of opposed contacts aligned with each ram assembly, the carriage is automatically advanced to bring each of another pair of contacts into alignment with a separate one of the ram assemblies.
While the Billingham et al. tool has proven very useful for field installation of ribbon-type connectors, attachment of RS-232 type connectors with this tool has proven somewhat inconvenient. With some types of RS-232 connectors, the connector hood is adapted to clamp the cable so that the axis of the cable is at a right angle to the longitudinal axis of the recesses in the connector block. This type of connector is known as a "right-angle" connector. With other types of RS-232 connectors, the hood clamps the cable so that the cable has its longitudinal axis generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the recesses in the connector block. This type of connector is often referred to as a "straight" type RS-232 connector. As presently designed, the Billingham et al. tool clamp the cable horizontally so the wires within the cable are perpendicular to the recesses in the connector block. Clamping the cable so that the wires are at a right angle to the connector recesses greatly facilitates the assembly of the right-angle type RS-232 connector. However, the fact that the Billingham et al. tool clamps the wire horizontally makes it difficult to employ this tool to attach "straight" type RS-232 connectors.
Another drawback of the Billingham et al. connector attachment tool is that the operator must continually pull and hold each of a successive pair of wires into alignment with a separate one of the ram assemblies as the ram assembly forces the wire against the contact. The need to continuously tension the wires during connector attachment can be tiresome, leading to operator fatigue. Further, there is currently no mechanism associated with the present day Billingham et al. tool to readily identify which pair of contacts is currently being attached to a pair of wires.
Thus, there is need for an improved tool for attaching successive pairs of wires in a cable to successive pairs of opposed contacts on a data connector which is not subject to the foregoing disadvantages.